Iowa Teacher Performance Assessment (IA-TPA)

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The Iowa Department of Education, as part of the Teacher Quality Project grant, developed an assessment of teaching practice called, the Iowa Teacher Performance Assessment (IA-TPA). The state worked with the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE) to develop this instrument based on four key Iowa Teaching Standards.

The purpose of this assessment is to provide a structured process between mentors and beginning teachers that allows them to examine teacher practice and makes the beginning teacher an active player in their own learning. This instrument is meant to augment the beginning teacher-mentor relationship and provide meaningful feedback on instruction. Mentors are encouraged to use the tool with their beginning teachers.

The state is in the final stage of completing the pilot use of the instrument, which will guide refinement to the tasks, required work products, and changes to the rubrics. Starting in the fall of 2016, the state will begin recruiting beginning teachers to participate in the Field Trial, as well as mentors, teacher leaders, administrators, and faculty to be raters. As districts develop their mentoring and induction plan for 2016-17, we would encourage them to use the IA-TPA as an innovative tool for mentors to use with beginning teachers. This instrument is not meant to replace your existing processes for teacher induction, but rather strengthens the work you are already doing.

For more information on this program, go to the IA-TPA website. You can also contact Dave Versteeg (dversteeg@ia-tpa.com) if you would like to participate in the Field Trial or are interested in learning how to make this innovation a part of your mentoring and induction program.

Webinar Recordings

IA-TPA Mentoring and Induction Webinar - Recorded by the Iowa Department of Education on May 25, 2016, this webinar provides information about how the IA-TPA supports the mentoring and induction process and how to sign up for the field trial. In addition, a research-based model for mentoring beginning teachers was shared.

The Innovation Collaborative - Recorded September 2016, this webinar details the Innovation Collaborative associated with the Iowa Teacher Performance Assessment. If your district is interested in joining the Collaborative to learn more about Charlotte Danielson’s Six Clusters Framework and mentoring tasks to support your beginning teachers.

Project Leads

With the kick off this project, the state believes that it is important to develop capacity from within the state to support the implementation of this exciting project. Over the next three years, the goal is to validate and refine the instrument, implement a digital platform to support the professional learning process, develop the training system for reviewing teacher work samples, and determine the operational requirements to make this an effective tool for all mentors and teachers. To support the rollout of this project, the IA-TPA team has been expanded to include the following people:

Dave Versteeg, Superintendent for Montezuma Community School District, joins the IA-TPA team as the Project Lead for Outreach and Recruitment. In this position, Dave oversee the coordination and administration of all recruitment and outreach to districts for the Iowa Teacher Performance Assessment project. He can be reached at dversteeg@IA-TPA.com.

Debra Johnsen is a retired school administrator from Southwest Iowa. She also served as Green Hills AEA's Lead Consultant for the Iowa Core Network and Teacher Leadership and Compensation System. Debora joins the IA-TPA team as the Project Lead for Rater Management. In this position, Debra oversees the coordination and administration of all rating aspects of the Iowa Teacher Performance Assessment project. She can be reached at djohnsen@IA-TPA.com.